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Topic: Best way to get "plain," mold-less natural rinds? (Read 1384 times)

How would you recommend aging cheeses without waxing/bagging for a natural rind, but without much mold or b.linens development? Vinegar and salt washes? Dry salt rubs? Alcohol? Can oil when dry enough, but getting to that point is the hard part! I'm thinking plain natural rinds on gouda, baby swiss, cheddar, the like.

There's a long tutorial post by Alp on the topic of natural rinsed Swiss cheeses. You should be able to find it. it's not that old. Read the whole thread of it because various details came out as people asked questions.

IMHO, it is far easier to work with and manage rinds than to outright try for absolutely no growth. Because to eliminate yeasts, bacteria, and mold, there are some mutually exclusive decisions to be made (eg salt will kill molds, but not all, and doesn't kill b linens, etc), unless you use rather intense chems like ethanol, natamycin, etc.

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Wovenmeadows, The first couple of cheeses I did that way had little b linens growth on them. And check out HKJ's rind he did that way. It looks pretty pristine. I must be clear though that I haven't found a way to keep them pristine and am not trying to. Boofer has some pretty clear rinds though so you could check his threads out and ask questions.

what is it you actually want in a rind? Other than 'plain' What are the qualities and attributes you are after?

It is basically impossible to create a blank rind, and it is not a good thing if you are going to age the cheese. The action of bacteria on the surface is what safeguards us against molds, and seals the cheese from infection. The rind is a natural way of achieving what we might otherwise achieve by waxing. The disinfecting qualities of the desirable bacteria do for us what we might otherwise use strong chemicals to achieve.

Alp--in the other thread about washing rind you say to put it on a board in the cave. spruce, fir or pine. are these treated before placing the cheese on them? i am brand new at making cheeses like this but really want to make some fabulous stuff.

and was there a recipe for the wash solution? i fail to find the ratios of water, wine (i would love to use white wine)and salt.